Lovin' the Psychopath Next to You
by FollowtheFatOrangeCat
Summary: [Formerly called Heathens] [A/U] Prisoners of war who manged to take down hundreds before capture, their lives are nothing more than solitaire confinement while rotting away far from home...Until it becomes obvious that they may be their captures' only hope, then lines begin to blur as desire id sparked and deals are made. [M for language and sexual content]
1. Prologue

**A/N: Problem with returning to writing after a long dry spell: too many ideas to juggle about. This one refused to be silent, so I will give it a go…**

 **WARNING: This was inspired by** ** _Suicide Squad_** **but by no means a retelling. There will be no spoilers for the movie within (other than what the trailer showed: criminals being used to fight threats…) and, actually, after the first few chapters will no longer resemble SS. I just happened to start thinking of our lovelies at Fairy Tail during the movie. In this, they are former warriors turned prisoners of war not 'criminals'…If that doesn't make sense now, it will if you read.**

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 **DISCLAIMER: I own nothing.**

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 **Prologue**

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Princes Jellel and Mystogan, co-rulers of Bosco, stood at the head of the long table. Identical pairs of hazel eyes looked over those assembled, not coming close to fill the fifty seats the chamber of war was designed to host…In fact, there were only five.

Yet, somehow, the weight of authority the room held was on par of when the council was assembled in its entirety.

"What are we doing here?" Laxus, one of the army's three generals and considered the 'Lighting of Fiore' for his accomplishments in the freshly won war, snarled his impatience as booted feet went to rest on the ancient table's top, chair leaning back on two legs. "Don't know if you noticed, but we lost Gildart about three minutes ago." A nod of his spiky blond head towards where a second general, Gildart 'Ace' Clive, seemed for all extensive purposes to be asleep, drooling on the near-petrified wood.

Only to jerk into awareness the next instant on receiving a quick jab to his ribs from the third of the militant trio. Unlike his fellow generals, Pantherlily wasn't human. Possibly the only one of his kind, the giant feline-humanoid was covered in both thick, black fur and heavy muscles that helped him stand above most. All this made the woman sitting by his side seem all the more delicate in and timid.

Where her 'brother' was imposing might, Levy was deceptively vulnerable in appearance. Her strength not residing within her petite frame but in the immense depths of her never resting mind. It was what she shared with the last member of the assembled. Freed Justice was the head of intelligence, Levy's superior within the Sneak Network. Both were unspoken and never acknowledged heroes of the war. Victory would have been impossible if not for their contributions.

In short, the only individuals who would truly understand the severity of the princes' actions were present to speak their minds about what they were about to propose to inflect upon their still recovering nation.

With a nod of his head, Mystogan indicated for Hibiki—royal aide and not there for his input but for his abilities—to begin.

The overly-handsome mage cracked his fingers in a solid go before flicking them through the air to activate the needed files for the rest to look over, transparent documentation enlarged and placed in the air above the center of where the five clustered about the table's middle.

The first file possessing a portrait of a comely red-haired young woman wielding duel swords with rage blazing in her eyes.

"Erza Scarlet, though all of you may know her better by what our soldiers have dubbed her: Titania." Jellel's calm voice filled the chamber, rattling off information as Hibiki flipped through files in turn for any who wanted to read along. "Born a slave in the southern islands, she found sanctuary in Fiore after orchestrating an escape. From there it was a simple matter of being taken in by the right people and working her way through the right channels before gaining her position within Fiore's army. During the final battle, it took over forty men to bring her down. I do believe that you, Pantherlily, were the one to deal the final blow."

"But didn't kill off the bitch while you had the chance," Laxus growled.

"It seemed too much a waste to destroy an artist like her." Panterlily replied, lacking in any form of apology or remorse about straying his hand that day on the blood-drenched field. "Enough lives had been squandered as it was."

"And you have no room to speak." Jellel chastised Laxus. Mystogan—one of few words and glad for his brother's eloquence—gave another nod and Erza's files disappeared, replaced by a fresh set. "Not when you allowed the Demon herself to continue breathing after your encounter."

There were two images presented. The first showed another young woman who, where Erza was strikingly beautiful, was intoxicating. Silver hair flowing about a curvaceous figure, concealing where her gown did little to contain full breasts and a skirt with a slit long enough for any to appreciate the length of her supple legs, she could easily be mistaken for a goddess turned flesh. The next image showed that her true nature pertained to the opposite side of the spectrum. A demon of fury with leathery wings spanning behind her.

"At the war's beginning. Mirajane Strauss was an unknown. Not involved in the earlier scrimmages and battled, she only took up arms against our forces when there was a misguided raid against her village, during which her younger sister was killed. After that, our soldiers quickly learned the means of waking a sleeping beast. If I remember correctly, you only managed to obtain her capture by subterfuge." Jellel looked at Laxus, but the comment was also directed to Levy, who had uncovered the needed information to ensure the Demon's removal from the action.

"I got her off the front lines."

"And now she is rotting away in the dungeon, a waste of her abilities."

"What are you trying to get at?" Gildart's grating voice inquired; chin resting on a fist as Hibiki continued to flip through files about additional prisoners of war.

The Ice Twins, as the two soldiers—one with black hair and one with white…both seeming to have personal grievance with conventional clothing—were called for their shared affiliations for freezing soldiers in their tracks and releasing animated snow monsters among the ranks.

The Rain Woman, who seemed to be in a perpetual state of depression and, to those who lived to speak of an encounter with senses intact, muttered under her breath as she drowned men on dry land and made torrents pound from what had been a sunny sky seconds before.

Rather than answering, Jellel continued his commentary when the files went to regard a pink-haired young man with fire springing from his very fingertips. "Natsu Dragneel, the Salamander. I doubt that anyone here will ever be able to forget that, even with the army destroyed, we nearly lost the war simply because of this man's actions. It seemed like the more we defeated his men, the more fortified and resolved he became."

The twin princes had to personally take the Salamander down. It had required their combined abilities to restrain the warrior long enough to physically contain his body within spelled glass that prevented possible escape. After such a display, the remainder of Fiore's army laid down their weapons and ceased resisting what they now say as inevitable.

Well, most of the army anyway.

One man had continued to fight even after all was considered lost.

Black Steel, Gajeel Redfox, might not possess the obvious esteem and devotion of his men that the Salamander appeared to effortlessly acquire, but he was on par with his fire equivalent in matters of prowess, being able to turn his body into a lethal weapon of iron with a near-manic blood lust to fuel his actions. He, they would have killed. The twins not able to pull off the same trick twice and him invoking substantial damage. It was actually his fellow soldier who convinced him to surrender.

His file was the last to be shown before the air went blank once more.

"Stop showing us people who we defeated and tell us why you're wasting our time with showing us pictures of people we defeated."

"These are people who we only managed to defeat through sheer luck and at great costs." Jellel countered with a pointedly lifted brow over his intricately tattooed eye in Laxus' general direction. "And what we are proposing on doing is, rather than allow such power and abilities go to waste, to use these specific individuals to our advantage."

Mouths dropped.

Even Laxus was rendered speechless at the implication the princes presented.

A total silence broken by stoic Freed uttering his first statement of the meeting. "Fuck."

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 **This was going to be longer…but then time got away from me and I wanted to post something before the idea was lost to me. Any/all feedback is appreciated.**

 **For those of you concerned about** ** _Strange Love_** **…I am again pegged down by too many ideas springing into my mind. Just when I think I have a solid plan for how to progress, something that seems even better pops into existence.**

 **Also, I know that there are typos fluttering about, I plan on trying to hunt them down later. Please forgive them. Again, I wanted to get idea out in the open before I get distracted by something else...**


	2. 1: Cat and Mouse

**DISCLAIMER: I own nothing.**

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 **ONE:**

 **Cat and Mouse**

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It would seem excessive, confining a man within at least fifty-three different types of intricate knots from rope the width of some toddlers' waists. Skinny toddlers, sure, but still would been seen as overkill in any other circumstance beyond that of Gajeel Redfox's.

When a man ate iron the way most did apples, extremes needed to be taken in regards to confinement. Not only did he wear several pounds of thick cord at all times, causing the menial tasks of using the toilet an interesting endeavor, but his life was now contained within a closet of cold stone.

This was the first time he had been permitted out of said 'room' within the six weeks that followed that damnable battle where Flame-Brained got publicly spanked and everyone lost their balls.

Why was he allowed out now?

Fuck if he knew.

He had been in the middle of his morning routine, passively staring at the wall while either planning one of many escape scenarios that would be feasible if he could just move his damn arms and get his hands on some metal—his piercings being confiscated on arrest—or remembering what sex was like—the latter becoming more and more frequent during his mental deliberations, seeing that he was denied even the courtesy of being able to relieve his own frustration—when the door to his cell opened on hinges that creaked in protest of disuse.

What walked in was the largest fucking cat he had ever seen. The thing was even taller than Gajeel, or he would if the iron mage was ever able to stand upright ever again and not permanently stopped about like an old man, and had to be built of pure, hard-won muscle. Even without armor and no visible weapons, there was no denying he was not one to be trifled with.

"Come along." Were the only two words his grating voice spoke, the deepness befitting his stature but not the fact that he had tiny cat ears and was a _fucking feline._

This country used _cats_ as soldiers.

How were they able to win the war?

A question that only intensified when Gajeel was deposited in a room of stone and wood, oddly comfortable and cozy if not to the soldiers lining the walls and the obvious integrating nature it was to serve. One lone table was placed at its center, all other furniture removed saved for two chairs placed at either end.

One was empty.

Gajeel was shoved into the other, before being secured to the floor by means of a convenient rung, also made of stone, and a few extra ropes were added to make him uncomfortably bound to the high-backed chair of what felt like petrified wood.

He might have seen a few of the soldiers execute hidden wards against evil with their fingertips when they caught his eyes.

The attempt at subtly caused him to smirk in the first time in weeks.

A smirk that died into slack-jaw confusion when the door on the chamber's opposite side swung open to admit the person he presumed was meant for the other chair. Where he had expected a soldier, grizzled from the battle front like the lighting wielding bastard, to come and torture privileged information from Gajeel's dying lips: there was an overly petite young woman. Now, Gajeel knew better than the under-estimate the 'fairer' sex. With a best-friend like Juvia and superior officers of Erza's and Mira's mantle, he was well aware of what a woman could do when properly motivated.

Even knowing this, he highly suspected that there had to be a colossal a mistake.

All those around, save Gajeel in his tattered prison ware and the super-sized cat in only a pair of draped pants, donned armor and bristled with blades. The woman those very soldiers inclined their heads towards was shy of five feet and wearing a loose, lacy dress with frills that did nothing for the boobs and—despite ending around her knees—less for the butt. She looked like a twelve-year-old on her way to a tea party, complete with a ribbon in her blue waves of hair and fingerless gloves that stayed on her arms by the grace of ornate cuffs along her upper arms.

What the fuck was this about?

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 _"—_ _what we are proposing on doing is, rather than allow such power and abilities go to waste, to use these specific individuals tour advantage."_

 _A total silence broken by stoic Freed uttering his first statement of the meeting. "Fuck."_

 _"_ _I'm going to have to second that." Laxus said, lifting a hand in the air as if they were voting on the validity of the spy-master's lone syllable response to the situation. "And will build off that by asking if you are out of your collective fucking minds?"_

 _The twin princes didn't seemed phased by the insubordinate profanity, such being commonplace with the blond general._

 _Mystogan just lifted his shoulders in a slight shrug, the mask covering the bottom portion of his face preventing much of anything else from being discerned about his over-all demeanor regarding the enterprise._

 _Jellel rested his palms on the table's surface and leaned towards those whose presence were requested for this private meeting, barred from prying ears by a score or so of spells laced about to prevent eavesdropping and other such forms of unwanted involvement. "The war has left us broken and vulnerable. We managed to finish what the Fiorians started, but there are already threats looming above us. Ones that show a potential for being a greater threat than that of misguided Fiore, at least then we were aware of what fueled their actions."_

 _"There have already been breeches along our boarders, unnamed parties poking for weak spots in our lines to slip through." Mystogan summarized, lacking in his brother's dramatic flare.  
_

 _Levy slipped Freed a look under her curtain of shoulder-length waves, asking with her eyes if he had been aware of this. He answered her silent inquiry with a flick of his chin._

 _No, this was new to him as well._

 _The interaction didn't miss the princes' notice._

 _"_ _We interceded your messengers," Mystogan deadpanned, as if he wasn't confessing to a massive break in the chain of information that Freed had established when his tenure began, the foundation which they won a war from._

 _"_ _Why?"_

 _"_ _Because we don't know who to trust." Jellel inclined his head to the five. "Besides those present here, anyone is suspect to being in the enemy's purse."_

 _"_ _Who's the enemy?"_

 _"_ _How can you be sure about us?"_

 _Pantherlily and Gildart fired off together._

 _"_ _Instinct." Jellel responded to Gildart first with utter, unwavering conviction. "Out of all who serve us, Mystogan and I agreed without hesitation that you five have given too much, sacrificed too much, for this country and for us personally to be anything save unwaveringly loyal."_

 _Laxus, always the one to ruin a moment, grumbled while rubbing at his temples, "That kind of naïve thinking is going to get you killed one day."_

 _"_ _Until then, we will continue to do so." Jellel shot back with a suggestion of a smile. "As for who we are up against, that's just the thing: we have no idea. All we know is that there have been assaults against the northern wall, though no soldiers have actually been seen—"_

 _"_ _Shadows?" Levy question, mental files already flipping through possible guilty parties. There was one in particular that kept springing into notice. One with reason to hold a grudge against her homeland and reason to get through their defenses, no matter how benign his appearance and demeanor may hold._

 _"_ _No." Mystogan gave her a slight shake, blue locks—close to the same shade as hers but silken straight—slipped into sight from under his scarf and fell across his forehead. If only he knew how much Levy would love to run her fingers through the mass. The frivolous thought—byproduct of a silly crush she had developed through the kindness he had shown her throughout their shared childhoods—made her face want to flame. "That's just the thing. We had originally assumed that it was some kind of rebellious act of poor-losers gone underground from that last battle, but the information—no matter how limited—does not coincide in the slightest to either of the two you are thinking."_

 _"_ _Time has been lost, such as patrols waking in odd locales far from their posts without recollection of how they got there."_

 _"_ _And why does this make you think there is a spy?" Pantherlily asked Jelllel, resting a paw on his adopted sister's head, bringing her back to the conversation in hand; he knew full well where her thoughts still resided: on how Mystogan's lips would feel against hers, how his would feel against her skin..._

 _"_ _Same reason why we know to trust you five: our instincts have yet to let us down. While the reports regarding lost patrols seem legitimate in innocence of the soldiers involved, there have been far too many other slips in security and protocol. We need to be able to investigate in this phenomenon—"_

 _"_ _And best to use those who you either trust unquestionably." Gildart nodded to his fellows. "Along with, seeing that there is not enough of us to safely strike an investigation solo, those you undoubtedly know you can't."_

 _"_ _Exactly."_

 _"_ _How do you propose going about signing them on?"_

 _"_ _That's where your sister comes in."_

 _All eyes shot to Levy._

 _"_ _You can't be serious." Pantherlily snarled, his bulk moving in closer to her as if his proximity would protect her from what Jellel was proposing. "She's a spy, an intelligence procurer, not a negotiator prepared to face those forms of savages."_

 _"_ _It has to be me." Levy surprised even herself in explaining what should be obvious. "Those seven," she motioned over to where Hibiki still sat, forgotten and dismissed…information she stored away like she did all else, "are prime alphas. Warriors of unparalleled status who view those of the same caliber as a threat on a base, primitive level. One of you step in to talk to them, and they will see the interaction as some form of combat. While I'm the only one of the 'trusted' who they won't see anything more than a meek messenger."_

 _"Changes are the greatest on them_ _lowering their guards around her. At least long enough to listen to what she has to say." Mystogan clarified. Levy could feel the weight of his eyes on her. "Everything hinges on her."_

 _"_ _No pressure." Laxus joked with a snort; eyes tight from the nervous tension all others were emanating._

 _Standing, Levy smoothed her hands down the canvas pants she preferred while working, comfortable and functional rather than more feminine clothing that befitted her fairy-like appearance. "Well then, I should prepare."_

 _"_ _Levy—"_

 _"_ _Who do you want to start with?" Jellel cut Pantherlily off with nothing more than a look of understanding but overruling._

 _"_ _Should start with the strongest and move my way down, but I need to change first. Best to look the part."_

 _…_

 _…_

 _…_

 _It wasn't uncommon to walk in on Cana, the palace semester…despite her father's military status, in one compromising situation or another. Normally this invovling alcohol and a game of cards with off-duty soldiers who were smitten by the purple-eyed beauty. Knowing this took nothing away from the shock value of entering her domain of cloth and thread and other such things to find the young beauty sitting on her work bench with her impossibly long legs wrapped about the waist of a young soldier; his long hair spilling out of the holder he used to keep it contained in the bun that kept such within regulation as their hands tore at each others' garments._

 _Perfectly manicured nails dug into Bacchus's wide shoulders, drawing blood the same shade of red as the tattoo spanning his muscular back. Meanwhile, his face was buried between her well-endowed breasts, which had been pulled free of the slight top barely clinging about her torso by the grace of a few brave strings._

 _"_ _Fuck…Cana…You feel so good…" He growled as Levy walked in without receiving any form of warning to the carnal display residing within. The soldier's calloused hands were pressed to the wall as his bare buttocks flexed from diving in deeper with a grunt._

 _"_ _Don't you dare come now." Cana ordered, panting heavily as one hand moved from his shoulder to said buns. Encouraging his actions with her body while denouncing them in a sensual command. "Don't you dare stop now!"_

 _"_ _Yes…Please stop!" Levy screamed, turning away with her face in her hands and the desire to request someone to scrub her mind clean. Not that something of this caliber could ever be unseen._

 _"_ _Levy?!" She heard Cana squeak in horrified shock._

 _"_ _Not the name you should be screaming." Bacchus reminded, not seeming to mind that they were caught, though he had to be well aware that there were inevitable repercussions for being caught dallying with Gildart's daughter. The sexual desires of men having no obvious survival instincts, only living for the moment._

 _"_ _I-I just need some clothes." Levy made her request with her back turned to the room as she began her retreat back down the hallway. "Can you send some of those girly dresses you like to force on me up to my rooms within the hour? Thanks. Bye!"_

 _There might have been smoke left in her wake._

* * *

The modifying moment was still lurking in her back of her mind as she entered the room where Gajeel Redfox, Black Steel and the last man standing on the field of battle, was constricted to a chair with an amount of coiled cords that had to weigh more than her.

Not that she allowed such to show on her face. There was vast difference in approaching the likes of him in a manner that spoke of intelligent innocence and vulnerable nativity. He had to be confident that she knew what she spoke about, that she was cleverer than him, but not seeing her as anything more than a glorified paper-pusher. A clerk for higher powers and not one of the inner-ring herself. Not as a little girl sent as a sacrificial lamb.

"Who the fuck are you?"

"Well," Levy kept her voice even as she gracefully settled in the seat at the table's far end, making a show of looking through the papers she had brought with her while she spoke. It might be unwise to show him such disregard, but she also needed some form of stance in the conversation or risk being bowled over. "I have to say that Mistresses Strauss and Scarlet were far more amicable."

"You've talked to Mira and Erza."

"Yes." Looking up, she unfolded her glasses and rested them on her nose so she could gaze at him over the rims. "I have been instructed to interview and analyze each of seven particular prisoners of the war, starting with the strongest—the obvious leaders—and work my way down."

Crimson eyes, burning with such intensity that it was hard to believe that he wasn't the fire affiliate, bore into hers. The man truly looked like a beast. While the two aforementioned women had managed a semblance of hygienic grooming during their days on confinement, he was a wreck. Long tangled mass of black hair was weighed down by unmentionable grime with dirt and other such mysterious filth caked skin that might have once been kissed by the sun, now nearing a sickly shade of pale.

The only thing confinement hadn't robbed him of was his powerful build. Muscles strained against the fabric of his tattered shirt's shoulders, robbed of its sleeves, and holes frayed at the knees of his light-weight pants from stretching along toned thighs.

"Do you disagree with my assessment?" Levy asked, voice a bit too innocent and wondered if he would be able to understand that she was baiting him.

"Nope." He leaned back against the chair as if he wasn't retrained to the furniture. "At least you're not as much of an air-head as you look."

"Thank-you for the high praise," she mimicked Mystogan's deadpan before flipping open a specific file. "Which is not a common practice for you, is it? Not unless someone is a shadow-caster or a healer."

"What the fuck is that supposed to mean?"

"You have two siblings." She did not post this as a question. "Half-siblings, that is. A Wendy Marvel, barely thirteen and the chief medical aid to the former Fiorian army, and a Rogue Cheney, a fellow soldier and—if you were to be honest—your favorite of the two. He being the perfect combination between Wendy's sweetness and your bloodlust."

Redfox tried to stand.

The guards around tensed, but it was Lily who stepped forward to press Redfox back into his seat…and then remained with his pawed-hands on the prisoner's shoulders. A warning for what would happen if Redfox tried such a second time.

"It wasn't that hard to discern. After all, it was only from Rogue's pleas what you laid down your arms and was somewhat-peacefully taken into custody, only breaking one soldier's nose when he tried to instruct others into taking Rogue as well. He's living in freedom, by the way. Or, I should say, he soon will be. At this exact moment, he is at a labor camp with several others of your troops."

"Stop your games and tell me what you want."

Levy gave a slight shake of her head, giving it as much condescension that she dared. "This isn't a game; this is your requested explanation. Everyone has something or someone they are willing to die for. The only thing they would throw away their convictions and self-preservation for. With your Demon, it is her remaining sibling, Elfman, and his wife and the child they are expecting. For Titania, it would have to be the former-slaves—her brother and sisters in captive arms—who have been searching for a safe haven since the promise of a home within Fiore has fallen through. Even your head-strong Salamander will, undoubtedly, see reason when we present his wife before him…" She paused to look at the portrait of the busty, blonde princess. The action preventing Redfox from seeing how her nerves were beginning to react to the raw rage and animosity wafting off his glowering person. "How that relationship happened has to be an interesting story. As for you, Black Steel, it is Rogue…and Wendy. Comply with the proposal I am about to present you, and not only will their lives improve exponentially but so will yours."

"How?"

Interesting that he asked that rather than what she was going to require of him.

"After successful completion of the given task, you will be granted title and lands—"

"In name only."

"Of course, but you won't have to remain in a cell for the rest of your days and your family can go and live in a manor off in the countryside."

"Far from where they could raise trouble, while I remain here in a 'private' roomed with a 'person guard.'" He scoffed, the actions crinkling his nose and drawing attention to the holes ranging about his face where infamous piercings once rested. "Still a jail sentence, just a prettied up one."

"I'm glad you're quicker than the intelligence portrays."

"You're a fucking bitch. You know that, right?"

Pantherlily's hold tightened.

Levy lifted a brow at her brother as she forced the insult to roll off her back. The words she spoke were meant for Redfox "So I've been told, but that is neither here nor there. All I do care about is if you are interested in hearing my proposal, or should I stop wasting my time and have you sent back to your cell with this being the last time you breath free air till the end of your days."

It was laying it on a bit thick, but everything rode on all seven cooperating with the notion without giving them a semblance of true power. Everything needed to be perceived to come from the sole grace of the twin's benevolence.

Fanged teeth audibly grinding together, Redfox jerked his chin in a nod.

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 **Please comment any/all feedback regarding this story; I love to hear what you guys think about the plot and if you'd rather see more of this or _Strange Love_ (wanted to have two chapters of each other before I try to reign in the thought processes).**

 **Side note: The Cana scene above wasn't planned but my roommate-a teacher-came home today mortified about walking in on the nurse and a fellow educator going at in the medical office during an in-service day regarding the upcoming school year. I had way too much fun laughing at her retelling and, seeing that I was writing this at the time, it found its way into the plot.**

 **Also, again and as always, I know that there are typos fluttering about, I plan on trying to hunt them down later. Please forgive them.**


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